Withering Affections
by TheLostMaximoff
Summary: NXM fic. The New X-Men have come to expect attacks from all sides lately. However, can they survive when the threat comes from a former friend?
1. Denial

Withering Affections

By TheLostMaximoff

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. Since my other New X-Men fic seemed to go over pretty well, I thought I'd try another one. R/R if it's good.

(Author's Note): Much like Angel's Requiem, this fic falls into that tiny continuity crack that's after "Mercury Rising/Falling" and before "Quest for Magik". Also, Jekyll is a real TV show that comes on BBC. It's only six episodes but you should check it out because it's awesome (and something I also don't own).

X

She couldn't sweat anymore. It had unnerved her at first but lots of things about her "condition" had unnerved Cessily Kincaid in the beginning. Tonight, Cessily considered it a blessing that she couldn't sweat because she would've surely woken up drowning in it if she could.

"Why?" whimpered Cessily as she reflexively curled up into a ball, "It hurts so much." Her sleeping patterns had been erratic ever since what had happened with the people from the Facility. Her body still ached and the nightmares plagued her even though she had been working with Emma Frost to try and alleviate them.

"Can't do it," mumbled Cessily as she absently got up from her bed. She had tried going to bed earlier to offset the fact that she was waking up every few hours from the nightmares. It was late but not late enough that everyone was in bed. Cessily moved over to a shelf and absently took down her copy of the school's yearbook. She randomly thumbed through the pages, mentally ticking off the students who were now dead. She took a long, hard look at the team photo of the Hellions. Brian was dead and God only knew where Kevin was now. Cessily bit her lip and allowed herself to have the childish fantasy that Kevin would've protected her from those monsters.

"No," whispered Cessily to herself as she shook her head, putting the yearbook back in its place and moving out into the hallway. Kevin wasn't coming back and he wouldn't have come to her rescue anyway. He was probably still too in love with Laurie to notice Cessily and her problems. Cessily wanted to be angry at Kevin for running out on them but she couldn't. It was always like her to blame herself for things.

"Yes," came the reply as Cessily knocked on the door belonging to Sooraya and Laura's room, "It is open." Mercury opened the door and stepped inside. She felt like she was walking in a fog that was half due to sleep-deprivation and half due to numbness.

"I need to talk," explained Cessily. Dust nodded and motioned that Cessily should sit down next to her. X-23's eyes didn't move from the TV screen but Laura still knew everything that was going on around her.

"What are you watching?" asked Mercury, "For that matter, when did you two get a TV in your room?"

"Jekyll," responded Laura in reference to the first question as she watched James Nesbitt cavort across the screen as the psychotic Mr. Hyde.

"Logan thought it would help Laura fit in if she had one," explained Sooraya as she answered the second question, "I do not care for it much but there are a few things I find enjoyable. Laura only likes this show."

"Lucky," mumbled Cessily, "Laura, can we talk?"

"Go ahead," replied X-23, her eyes never leaving the screen. Mercury sighed. At first, she didn't understand Laura. Sure, she had made the obligatory remarks about how she understood what X-23 was feeling because Cessily Kincaid was a nice, caring person and that was what nice, caring people did. She hadn't really understood it all until now, until she had to live a fraction of it.

"Laura," said Dust sternly. X-23 sighed and rolled her eyes, turning the volume on the TV down to where a normal human couldn't hear it but she still could. She swiveled around to look at Mercury. Cessily felt somewhat nervous as she gazed back at X-23.

"You are still suffering from what happened to you?" asked Dust although it was more a statement than a question.

"Yeah," confessed Mercury as she shuddered from the memories, "I just . . . I want to talk about it but I can't find the words."

"There aren't any," assured Laura, "You escaped. You lived. You were one of the lucky ones." X-23 wasn't one to discuss her past. She wasn't one to discuss anything period. However, she was willing to acknowledge that others had suffered a fate similar to her own and was still human enough to feel sympathy for them. It was a small amount of sympathy but that was all she could muster on anything.

"I don't feel lucky," admitted Cessily.

"There is a saying," offered Sooraya, "That which does not kill you makes you stronger."

"That thing is still out there," explained Mercury, "It's still running around wearing my skin, wearing a part of me. This isn't over."

"It never is," assured X-23, "You heal but it's never completely gone."

"Not exactly the cheeriest outlook," said Cessily sadly.

"I have known you long enough, Cessily," assured Dust, "You are strong enough to pull through this."

"Thanks," replied Mercury reflexively even though she only half believed it. The world wasn't as sunny anymore. She couldn't keep pretending everything was roses when things were very clearly going to Hell.

"Kevin called me," explained Cessily in a haphazard fashion, "The day of the candlelight thing, he called me. I tried to get him to stay and talk but he just wanted to know about Laurie."

"Did you talk to Miss Frost?" asked Dust. She, like the rest of the former Hellions, hadn't forgotten about their wayward teammate. Sooraya had kept Kevin in her prayers to Allah, asking Him to guide Wither home.

"Miss Frost doesn't care," stated Mercury, her voice having an uncharacteristically cold edge to it, "I talked to her about it before. She said she had people watching him but that's it."

"Perhaps that is all she can do," suggested Sooraya, "This place is not a prison, Cessily. People choose to come and go as they please."

"Tell that to the storm-troopers with their giant robots," reminded Mercury, "I dunno. I just wish he was here."

"So things would feel more like how they used to?" asked Dust, again more of a statement than a question.

"Yeah," admitted Mercury as she got up, "I think I'm going to go for a walk. Thanks for listening."

"Always," assured Sooraya. Dust turned to see that X-23 was once again enamored with the television.

"You could've been nicer to our guest," reminded Sooraya.

"I'll check on her if she's not back," assured Laura. Sooraya supposed she could settle for that.

XXXXX

Kevin Ford was an artist. Any man could make something from a chosen material. An artist could take lifeless things and make them breathe. Paradoxically, Wither could reduce that which could already breathe into a soulless, lifeless husk. Life and death were in the palms of his hands. He possessed the power to create and destroy. _That_ was what made him an artist.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" asked Wither as he turned to his companion, "I mean the moonlight glinting off the skin, the contrast, everything." He did enjoy the challenge of working with this new medium. Living beings offered a whole new range of opportunities as opposed to metal. Before, Kevin would've been afraid to attempt such things. Artists shouldn't be afraid of challenging themselves.

"A masterpiece," assured Selene as she grinned at the corpse that was lying at their feet. Calling it a corpse was something of a complement at this point. The body was now nothing more than a skeleton with a few chunks of meat still remaining on it. What little flesh there still was couldn't help identify who the body had once been. Wither had made sure to leave no features intact.

"All thanks to you," assured Wither, "Where would an artist be without his faithful muse?"

"You honor me with your kind words, sir," replied Selene, "Must we stay here in this oh so boring town? Europe is quiet lovely this time of year. What better place to create your next masterpiece than in Paris or Venice?"

"I have something I need to take care of," confessed Wither.

"Yes," replied Selene with a sigh, "I would've thought you'd be over her by now, Kevin. Your old life is quite dead."

"She is nothing compared to you," assured Wither, "You have nothing to worry about." Selene leaned forward and kissed him. Wither had become used to the intoxicating feel of Selene's kisses. Kissing her was, in fact, the only time Kevin Ford felt at peace. The rest of his life was haunted by ghosts and visions of death at every turn. Selene was the only person Wither saw as an actual person, which was odd considering she was no less inhuman than he was.

"See that it stays that way," hissed Selene in Wither's ear, "I'll go eat while you take care of your business." Wither felt the blood rush to his head as Selene departed into the night. Feeding always left her hot. He figured he had just enough time to get everything done and still catch her while she was high from sucking the life out of someone. If he was lucky, Kevin might have another masterpiece finished before the night was done.

XXXXX

Mercury quickly realized there wasn't exactly much place for her to go in town. The Grindstone was rubble now thanks to Kimura's attack. Cessily sighed as she aimlessly walked down the streets of Salem Center, feeling as if everything was changing. Every mainstay of her life was disappearing and she was left in a sea of change with nothing to cling to.

"I'm way too young for this crap," muttered Mercury as she stared at the window display of an antique store and felt a strange kinship with the relics inside. She should just pack her things and leave. Nobody would blame her after what she'd suffered through. She didn't have any place to go though. Her parents had practically disowned her and she didn't want to be a burden to her other relatives.

"No way," said Mercury in disbelief as she saw something in the reflection of the store's window. It wasn't just a something. It was a someone. Mercury turned around to make sure it wasn't just a trick of the reflection or her imagination. It was really him. He was still in town. Cessily thought for sure that Wither was long gone. When Emma had told Mercury that she was keeping an eye on him, Cessily assumed he had already left for some other city.

"Kevin!" called out Mercury as she waved her hand. Wither turned and looked in her direction. He had stopped at a florist after leaving his masterpiece for the authorities to find the next morning. Fake flowers would have to do since his mutation and budget didn't allow for real ones. He turned in the direction of the familiar voice and saw her. Mercury was easy to spot, easier still for Kevin since she was one of a handful of people who didn't look like a corpse in his eyes. Still, it didn't mean he wanted to see Cessily. He was bidding his old life farewell, not trying to rekindle the dying embers. Selene had been right. His old life was dead now. So Kevin Ford did the only sensible thing he could do in this situation. Kevin Ford ran like hell.

"Wait!" shouted Cessily as she hurriedly crossed the street, morphing around whatever might be a hindrance to her pursuit. Why was he running? Could it be that Emma had been right about him? Did he really not want to come back? Mercury had little time to ponder such questions. Something tackled her into an alley.

"No!" whimpered Mercury as she heard the thing growl. She squeezed her eyes shut tight and felt herself curl up into a ball. She remembered the eyes of those things, those beasts that wore her liquid-metal flesh as their own. They were so utterly inhuman, so devoid of anything resembling emotion. All they knew was killing. Cessily knew those eyes would haunt her forever.

"Dunnae be afraid, lass," assured a faintly familiar voice, "Tis Rahne, Cessily. Rahne Sinclair. Ye surely haven't forgotten me."

"Rahne?" asked Mercury shakily as she felt herself start to relax, "What're you doing here?"

"Following Kevin," replied Wolfsbane, "Sorry fer the fright. Animal urges arenae easy ta control."

"Kevin," said Mercury, suddenly galvanized into action, "He's here. C'mon, we have to find him." Mercury moved to go after Wither but Rahne grabbed her arm.

"There're some things ye should know," explained Wolfsbane, "I work fer X-Factor Investigations. Miss Frost 'hired' me ta keep watch on Kevin."

"Where has he been?" demanded Mercury, "Why can't we take him in?"

"He popped back inta town a day or so ago," explained Wolfsbane, "I've been trackin' him since. Ye won't like what I saw."

"What has he done?" asked Mercury.

"That," replied Rahne as she gestured to the corpse lying in the alley, "Sure'n there's plenty more where that came from too."

XXXXX

He hadn't bothered to look back until he was at least a block away. When he did finally stop to catch his breath, Kevin Ford didn't see anything. He wondered if it might've been just his imagination. His mind often played tricks on him, telling him things were there when they clearly weren't. Wither let his breathing slow down as he leaned against a building.

"Business," muttered Wither as he pushed off the wall and returned to a leisurely pace, intent on keeping his appointment. He clutched the plastic flowers in his hand and returned to his sacred quest.

"Where do you think he's going?" asked Mercury as she and Wolfsbane watched Kevin from a rooftop.

"Cannae say," replied Rahne as she moved along the rooftops to follow Wither, her animal senses easily sniffing out his trail, "I'm surprised he's in town at all. He disappeared on me somehow. He was squatting in a condemned building in Mutant Town. He went in one day and never came out. The place didn't smell right."

"Back in that alley," said Mercury, "Do you think he really killed that woman?"

"'Fraid so, lass," said Wolfsbane as the two of them continued to follow Wither, "I'm sorry, Cessily, but yer friend is gone."

"I'm used to hearing that by now," assured Mercury coldly, "I think I'm starting to get numb to it."

"I've heard what's happened," assured Rahne, "We're all doin' our part, Cessily. Yer not as alone as ye might think."

"He's stopped," pointed out Mercury. Wolfsbane turned to see that Wither had indeed arrived at what was apparently his destined location. Rahne had been focusing her attention on her conversation with Cessily while her body had been following Kevin's scent. While her animal instincts could sometimes be a problem, Rahne found they came in handy from time to time.

"This place 'ave any meanin' fer him?" asked Wolfsbane as she pointed to the cemetery. Mercury stared at it solemnly, again thankful that she could no longer sweat. For someone who had spent so much time in the company of Death, Cessily Kincaid was still terrified of it.

"We couldn't bury Laurie at Xavier's with the others," explained Mercury, "Her mom wouldn't let us."


	2. Dance With the Devil

Withering Affections (Part Two)

By TheLostMaximoff

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. R/R.

"I think I'd like to get back on the team." David Alleyne turned away from his computer screen and looked at his gold-skinned roommate. He had been running over some stats from the New X-Men's training sessions to see what they could improve on. Even without his powers, David still knew the power of information. While Surge was the leader in the field, David was still the tactician and coordinator. It was a system they were both happy with.

"Do you think you're ready?" asked David seriously. Josh Foley simply nodded. David could see that most of Josh's usual cockiness was gone. Elixir wasn't the golden child of Xavier's anymore. The tar-like ooze that stained his skin was proof enough of that.

"You're going to have to talk to Nori," explained David, "Our recruitment drive hasn't turned up much so I'm guessing she'll say yes."

"What'll _you_ say?" asked Elixir.

"I say you better have your head checked over by Miss Frost," stated David, "That's really just advice though. If you think you're ready, _really_ think you're ready, then you're clear with me."

"You think I'm going to do something?" asked Josh.

"It's a precaution," explained David, "We've all been through a lot lately and not all of us can deal with it." He was about to say more when Nori suddenly opened the door.

"Knock much?" asked Josh.

"Have either of you seen Cess?" asked Surge.

"I thought she'd be in her room," replied David, "She's still pretty shaken up about things."

"Sooraya said she was going for a walk," explained Nori, "I think she and Laura are worried."

"Laura's _worried_?" asked Josh with a skeptical arch of the eyebrow, "It must be pretty serious."

"See if Miss Frost can locate her," suggested David.

"It'd be faster if you went to one of the Cuckoos," reminded Josh, "Cess probably just wants to be alone for a little while."

"You might be right," admitted Nori, "I just don't like the idea of her being alone, especially with everything that's happened to us and to her."

XXXXX

"I brought flowers." Kevin Ford didn't exactly know what to say. He wasn't much of a believer in God or the afterlife. In his experience, death was the end. It was the period on the closing sentence of the last paragraph in a novel. There was nothing after death. So he didn't exactly understand what he was supposed to say to the non-existent spirit of Laurie Collins. He just knew that this was what he was supposed to do.

"They're plastic," explained Wither as he put them in front of the grave, "You know, because of my powers and all." He felt like he was trying to learn to dance or something else he was equally unskilled at. There was too much fumbling. That was one thing he enjoyed about Selene. Kevin was free to be himself around her. There was no fumbling with Selene because there was no nervousness.

"I'm going away," explained Wither, "It'll be for a long time I think. I just wanted to come here and tell you. It's been a month, right to the day. I still think about you and . . . sometimes I wish she was you." Kevin had sobered up since his time at Xavier's. He wasn't a schoolboy anymore.

"Kevin." Wither turned to see Cessily standing there. It hadn't been a trick of his imagination. She really had seen him and now she was here.

"Yes?" asked Wither as he waited for Mercury to say something else.

"Kevin, did you kill that woman back there?" asked Mercury. She didn't exactly plan to lead with that but she was still so hurt by it. When she had known Kevin, she hadn't known him as a murderer. She knew him as someone who battled against the violent nature of his power rather than as someone who embraced it.

"You saw my art," said Wither with a grin, "Did you like it?"

"Kevin, she was murdered," replied Mercury, "That's not art."

"Of course it is," countered Wither, "Pain is art. Suffering is art. What I did in that alley was a masterpiece." Mercury stared at him as if he was another person who was simply wearing Kevin Ford's skin.

"Kevin, you're sick," stated Mercury, "I came here because I'd like it if you came back with me, back to Xavier's."

"They don't want me there," stated Wither coldly, "They never did and they never will. Hell, none of you had the decency to let me know about Laurie. I had to find that out from Selene."

"Who's Selene?" asked Mercury.

"Aye," agreed Wolfsbane as she stepped up beside Cessily, "Where'd ye come by that name, Kevin?" Rahne remembered Selene very well. Back in the day, the New Mutants had run into her and the Hellfire Club a few more times than Rahne would've liked. If Kevin had somehow fallen in with Selene then Rahne found it difficult to believe that he could be saved. Selene had a hold over her followers that was almost unbreakable.

"I found myself a new teacher," assured Wither with a cruel grin in Wolfsbane's direction, "You could say it's a lot like that thing you had with Foley only with us there're no rules, no restrictions. We just are what we are."

"Ye'll need ta rub tha salt in harder, lad," assured Wolfsbane, "I got over Josh."

"Well I guess you're the lucky one," spat Wither sarcastically as he gestured to the headstone, "Maybe you should thank me for making sure you didn't end up like Laurie."

"Kevin, listen to yourself," said Mercury, "There's no way you could be this cold. I know who you are. You're not like this."

"You knew who I _was_," corrected Wither. He saw Wolfsbane sniff the air, the fur on the back of her neck starting to stand up. A low, threatening growl escaped Rahne's lips.

"Men," muttered Selene as she appeared, "They're never as reliable as you want them to be."

"I was intent on keeping my word," assured Wither, "I happened to run into some old friends."

"Aye and we mean ta take him back," assured Wolfsbane, "Ye may've sunk yuir claws in deep, Selene, but ye picked tha wrong kid ta mess with."

"My adoring artist serves me freely," assured Selene with a wicked smile, "I'm his muse."

"You're his poison," retorted Mercury.

"Watch your tone, little girl," ordered Selene, "I've already fed well tonight but I can spare room for dessert." Mercury heard a cracking sound as Selene's eyes suddenly glowed with energy. There were two stone gargoyles perched on the front gate of the cemetery, one on each side of the entrance. Both Mercury and Wolfsbane turned to see the stone monsters come alive and fly towards them.

"Any pearls of wisdom, senior X-Man?" asked Mercury.

"Don't let her touch ye," warned Wolfsbane, "That and try ta stay alive."

"Seems to be what everyone tells me these days," said Mercury as the duo of gargoyles swooped at them. Mercury's fingers flexed into razor-sharp talons and she grimaced from the pain. She hadn't had a combat session since the Facility. Her powers were still trying to get back to full strength so she was a little rusty. One gargoyle tried to pounce on her. Mercury grabbed the thing, raking her fingers down its back and trying to cut off a wing or perhaps both. She was through being nice, especially since these things weren't actual living creatures. That meant she could afford to play a little dirty.

"I didn't want this," assured Wither as he came at Wolfsbane, "You should've stayed away." Rahne grappled with the second gargoyle. She saw Kevin out of the corner of her eye and quickly moved to use the gargoyle as her shield from his touch. She was well-acquainted with Wither's power. Anything organic was off limits for him but his powers wouldn't harm anything inorganic like stone.

"Ye should've known we'd find out, Kevin," chided Wolfsbane as Wither tried in vain to reach over the gargoyle and get to her. Meanwhile, Rahne was still clawing at the thing in an effort to stop it from attacking her.

"I was planning on being gone by then," admitted Wither, "You're lucky I'm still such a sentimental fool."

"Cessily cares about ye," said Wolfsbane as she threw the gargoyle backwards, knocking both it and Wither to the ground, "Ye think Selene loves ye? She only loves herself."

"At least I'm allowed to be myself," retorted Wither as he came at Wolfsbane again, "You can't imagine what it's like living with these urges. You walk through life and it feels like you're in a cage."

"I cannae imagine?" asked Wolfsbane rhetorically as she tried to fight Wither without letting him touch her, "I find that hard ta swallow." She knew what it felt like to have instincts you couldn't always control. She didn't need a sermon on that.

"I'll settle for you not swallowing at all," assured Wither as he tried to grab Wolfsbane by the throat. Rahne wasn't going to make things so easy. She dodged and grabbed Wither's arm, making sure that she was touching his shirt and not his skin. Wolfsbane wrenched Wither's arm behind his back, pressing it against his back so it was completely neutralized.

"I wouldn't get too close," advised Wither as he tried to reach around with his other hand to get Wolfsbane. Rahne quickly grabbed his other arm and pressed it against his chest.

"Look at her," ordered Wolfsbane as Mercury and Selene were fighting, "She's willin' ta risk her life fer ye. Come home, Kevin."

"Or what?" asked Wither cruelly as he slipped off his shoe, "You gonna give me detention?" Most socks were cotton so Wither had taken to just not wearing them at all. That meant that he was now pressing his bare foot against Wolfsbane's leg. His power wasted no time in eating through the leg of Rahne's jeans and then quickly went to work on her skin. Wolfsbane howled and pushed Wither away.

"Need any help?" asked Wither as he looked over to Selene. The immortal witch had fallen back, content to let the two statues she had animated do her dirty work for her.

"They can keep these two occupied," assured Selene as she came over to Wither, "We should leave."

"Not till I settle an old score," stated Wither as he moved to where Wolfsbane was lying on the ground, "It's nothing personal, Miss Sinclair. I just wanna send a little message to Foley." Wolfsbane tried to stand up but her leg was too injured from Wither's touch. That left her easy prey to receive another dose.

"Kevin, don't!" shouted Mercury as she morphed her way through the grasp of the gargoyles and moved to stop Wither. A bolt of lightning crackled through the air and zapped Wither, forcing him back.

"Next time you wanna send a message, have the decency to at least show up in person," said Surge as X-23 ran past her and into the fray, "Sooraya, lay down some cover." Dust came into view, fanning out her dust cloud into a barrier that shielded Wolfsbane. At this point, Nori wished she had brought a little more backup. The Cuckoos had told her Rahne, Cessily, and Kevin were here. They hadn't mentioned anything about the walking statues or the witch in the S&M outfit.

"Nice to see you again," said Surge as Wolfsbane crawled backwards to her, "How are things?"

"Could be better, lass," assured Wolfsbane.

"Yeah, I know how it goes," replied Surge as lightning bolts crackled out and over Dust to arc towards Selene, Wither, and their stone pets. Surge took care not to hit X-23 or Mercury with her lightning.

"You didn't have to come to my rescue," stated Mercury.

"Someone did," retorted X-23 as she slashed at a gargoyle, her claws removing its head from its body. She knew that wasn't going to cut it. The thing was still coming at her. Laura sidestepped the slash, chopping the gargoyle's arm off before spinning with a roundhouse kick that severed the thing's upper torso from its lower body thanks to her toe claw.

"We need to leave," stated Selene as X-23 made short work of the second gargoyle. Her eyes glowed as she telekinetically reached out and threw X-23 aside before Laura could strike her. Selene grabbed Wither and mumbled the incantation for a teleportation spell.

"I'm not letting you run away again," assured Mercury as she made a grab for Wither. Cessily's fingers latched onto him just as the teleportation kicked in. The result was that Mercury had vanished along with Selene and Wither.

"Great," muttered Surge as she powered down and looked at the chaos around her, "If Laurie's mom didn't hate us before, she totally does now."

XXXXX

Mercury felt her body yanked out of this dimension and then quickly reinserted into it. The process was very jarring and left her in pain.

"This isn't far enough," stated Wither as he looked around at the darkened halls of the museum they had suddenly appeared in.

"I used up a lot of energy," snapped Selene as she tried to steady her breathing and wiped a strand of gray hair from her eyes, "I didn't plan for that." Wither was about to voice his displeasure some more when he noticed that Mercury had somehow hitched a ride with them. Selene noticed it too.

"I believe I can solve our problem," assured the witch as she moved towards Mercury. Cessily was still dazed from the teleportation. Selene was on her in an instant and Mercury felt the life-draining effects of her touch. Cessily howled in pain and managed to throw Selene off of her. The witch's touch had taken its toll. Mercury was in no condition to mount more offense while Selene already looked years younger.

"So young," said Selene as she licked her lips, "So ripe." The witch was about to strike again but Wither stepped in the way.

"Spare her," pleaded Wither, "The others will come for her. You can do what you like with them but don't hurt her."

"You want mercy from me?" asked Selene with a smirk, "You don't know me very well, Kevin."

"I told you, you can have your fill with the others," explained Wither, "I'll probably even help you kill them. Just leave her alone. That's all I ask." Selene looked into Wither's eyes. Kevin was still a naïve fool. She could see he was going to have to learn a few more lessons. She could use her touch on him again, use it like she had used her kisses to steal fractions of his essence and bind him to her will. However, he did present a tempting offer. She could spare one life in exchange for more lives to feast on and she would also get the chance to help Wither eliminate his old friends once and for all, thereby freeing him of all ties to his old life. However, even if Selene was going to spare Mercury's life it didn't mean that Cessily wasn't something that needed to be dealt with.

"I won't hurt her at all," assured Selene cruelly, "On the contrary, I'm going to give her something very precious." Selene's eyes glowed. Mercury felt what the witch was doing. It was like her mind was being assaulted by claws, the sharp talons digging their way into her brain. Cessily tried to fight but the claws were relentless. They burrowed deep into her mind, digging up memories and fantasies. Mercury felt herself trying to fight against the tide as all her subconscious thoughts were kicked up in the digging and were thrown together with her memories, overriding them as her mind threatened to cave in on itself.

"Please," begged Mercury as she looked at Wither, "Make her stop." That was the last thing she could think before the claws cut off her mind from the rest of her body. Mercury managed one last mental scream before her mind went dark. Wither watched her lay there on the floor, her body now nothing but a lifeless shell. He barely even felt the impulse to cry.

"Kneel," ordered Selene. Mercury's body suddenly picked itself up as if Selene had breathed new life into it. Wither looked at Mercury's face. It was blank and hollow. There was nothing to suggest that Mercury still had a mind. She was just Selene's puppet, her slave. Mercury did as commanded, kneeling in obedience before Selene.

"We have a new pet," stated Selene as she looked at Wither with a cruel gleam in her eyes.


	3. Precious Illusions

Withering Affections (Part Three)

By TheLostMaximoff

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. I'm taking a trip so I thought I'd leave you with this before I left. R/R.

"Cessily! Come on, you're going to be late for practice!" Cessily Kincaid stirred and groggily opened her eyes to look at the clock on her nightstand. She muttered under her breath as she put the pillow over her head to drown out the sound of her father's voice.

"Cess!" yelled Cessily's father. Cessily mumbled some more as she sat up and reached for the cord to turn on the ceiling lights.

"Okay, I'm up," assured Cessily as she turned on the light, "I'll be right down; I just have to shower first." She didn't exactly understand the logic of showering before exercising but she also didn't understand the logic of having all the cheerleaders take gym first period as an excuse to do morning practice in addition to afternoon practice. Doing round-offs and somersaults this early in the morning was a nightmare. Cessily yawned as she stepped into her bathroom. Her emerald-colored eyes gazed at her reflection and she squinted slightly. For some strange reason, Cessily felt as if something looked odd about her.

"For one thing, you're a mess," declared Cessily to her reflection as she studied it carefully. She didn't really look different. She had the same green eyes, the same red hair, the same cream-colored skin. Cessily thought she might be a little pale. Maybe it was a sign she was coming down with something.

"That would suck," said Cessily aloud as she stripped off her clothes and stepped into the shower. She turned the knobs and let the water blast her, the torrent cascading down her smooth skin. Cessily let out a contented sigh as the warm water worked its magic on her muscles. It was going to be the start of another average day.

XXXXX

"You erased her." Selene rolled her eyes at Wither as she reached down and patted her new pet on the head, taking a piece of Mercury's essence to insure the girl's continued cooperation. Cessily still remained on her knees, her body motionless until her new mistress commanded her to move.

"I told you not to hurt her," said Wither.

"I didn't," assured Selene with a cruel grin, "Her mind is still intact. It's simply locked away in a nice, little fantasy world of her own design. I've given her everything she ever wanted." Wither moved in front of Mercury and cupped his hand under her chin, tilting her head up so he could look into her eyes. They were even more lifeless than normal. Despite their lack of pupils, Cessily's eyes normally had a spark in them. She used to be bright and full of life but she had become damaged. Wither had seen it in her eyes when she had confronted him earlier. There was a yearning in them, a desire for normalcy. Wither knew that to be a delusion. Perhaps if they managed to keep Mercury and her mind returned, Kevin would help teach her and free her from such delusions.

"I've been a good girl," hissed Selene in his ear as she wrapped her arms around him, "Aren't you pleased?" Wither felt the delicious touch of her skin on his as she playfully kissed his neck. He stared into Mercury's lifeless eyes while Selene's lips pressed against his tender flesh. He couldn't decide which was the bigger turn-on.

XXXXX

"You should've told me." Julian Keller didn't roll himself out of bed while half asleep for just anyone. However, when the girls came back with bad news about Mercury, Hellion found himself fully alert in just under two seconds.

"I thought we could handle it," stated Surge, "You and Santo were busy watching pro wrestling. Do you seriously think you would've paid attention to anything I said?"

"If it was about Cess then yeah," countered Hellion.

"Julian, I _did_ come into the room," reminded Surge, "You and Santo were eating pizza and watching the stupid, obligatory T&A portion with your eyes glued to the screen and your tongues hanging out."

"Hey," interjected Rockslide, "That was the Women's Championship match. You're all about the women's liberation thing. I figured you'd be proud of us."

"I really don't have the patience to tell you how totally wrong you are," said Surge with a sigh as she put a hand to her forehead.

"Bottom line," spoke up Hellion, "Cess is family and none of this is helping. What's the deal?"

"Miss Frost is doing her thing now," explained Surge, "We took Miss Sinclair into the med wing and I sent Josh down there to help."

"Wait, you sent Foley down there?" asked Rockslide with an incorrigible grin, "That totally settles it. Next time we hit the town, you're my wingman . . . er I mean winggirl . . . wingwoman."

"Dare I ask what he means by that?" asked Surge as she looked at Hellion and folded her arms across her chest.

"It's a guy thing," replied Hellion with a grin, "Seriously, you sent Foley down to check on the girl he got kicked out of school?"

"Josh wants to get back on the team," explained Surge, "David told me about it and I think maybe we should let him."

"Till he goes nuts and kills somebody else," added Rockslide. Santo would've said more had not the lights in the room suddenly flickered and Nori's eyes crackled with energy.

"I think what my learned colleague is trying to say," explained Hellion before things got really out of control, "is that Foley might be dangerous. Yeah, that's a sentence I never thought I'd say but it's true."

"You protected Kevin," reminded Surge as the lightning in her eyes faded, "You looked out for him even though he had killed his own father. I'm not saying Josh is the same person he was or that he should treat him like he is. Just give him a chance, Julian."

"You're the boss," assured Hellion, "If you want him to get his shot then this is it. As soon as Miss Frost finds out where Cess is, all of us are going to hit that place and nothing's going to get in our way."

"Good," said Surge, "I'm going to check on the others." Nori left Santo and Julian alone. Hellion sighed and turned to his towering companion.

"You really think Kevin would hurt Cess?" asked Rockslide.

"It's not like he hasn't already," reminded Hellion as he gazed at a photo of the Hellions that was sitting on the dresser. They had been like a family to each other, which was nice since most of them didn't have good relationships with their own families. Hellion hated to see what they had turned into now.

"Kevin's still family, right?" asked Rockslide, giving voice to Julian's questions, "I mean he's still a Hellion and all that stuff, right?"

"Yeah, big guy," assured Hellion, "It's just that sometimes you have to beat some sense into your family members."

XXXXX

"Uhm, hi." Rahne had been trying to lay on her stomach to decrease the pressure on her injury. She always healed faster than a normal person but this time there was the danger that Wither's powers had killed too much to fully heal from. Rahne turned to follow the sound of the voice.

"Hey," replied Rahne as she watched Elixir walk into the room, "They send ye ta work on me?"

"Yeah," replied Elixir as he pulled up a chair and sat beside Rahne's bed, "I . . . noticed you got a new haircut." Rahne tried to shift around to a more comfortable position. She finally settled on sitting up with her leg bent to make sure the back of it wasn't touching anything.

"Used ta be like this when I was young," explained Rahne as she ran her fingers through her short, cherry-red hair, "That was back when I first came here. I see ye've had yuir own changes." She saw Josh grimace. The black ooze that stained his skin moved away from his hands as he put one hand under Rahne's bad leg and the other on top of it, stretching it out so he could work better. Rahne noticed for perhaps the first time that Josh Foley hadn't been himself. She chalked it up to the fact that there was still unsettled business between them and he was nervous about it. Somehow she knew that wasn't the truth.

"He didn't hurt it that badly," assured Josh, disregarding Rahne's comment on his new look. His hands glowed and worked their magic. He hadn't really healed anyone since X-23 after the Nimrod thing. At first, he didn't fully think he _could_ heal anymore. It was a heavy burden to hold life in one hand and death in the other. Josh Foley didn't know if he could bear it.

"Thank ye," said Rahne as she saw his work was done, "What's that on yuir skin?"

"A reminder," answered Josh somewhat coldly.

"I heard about Stryker," said Rahne.

"Don't talk about it," replied Elixir as he got up to leave, "You were right, Rahne. We shouldn't have done what we did." Both of them knew that Josh took things harder than he should. He felt like everything was up to him because he was the one who could heal people, fix people. Now he was learning just how powerless he was and in some cases just how capable he was of hurting things instead of healing them.

"I dunnae regret feelin' how I did fer ye, Josh," assured Rahne as she touched his arm, "I only regret that it happened at the wrong time fer tha both o' us." Elixir turned and smiled a little at her. She always made him feel like he could do anything. Laurie had made him feel that way too.

"It's a good thing you didn't have that accent back then," admitted Josh, "If you did, I really don't think I could've let you go at all."

"We can talk later if ye want," assured Rahne with a smile.

"Maybe when this is over," replied Josh, "I wanna get back on the team. I think this is going to be my tryout." Rahne nodded and let go of him. Josh walked to the door.

"Hey, slick," said Rahne before he could leave, "Ye take care of yuirself out there." Josh looked back at her and gave her a smile.

"Always," he assured her as he nodded and left the room.

XXXXX

Cessily Kincaid always found it odd that the most trivial yet unexpected occurrences could be the ones that made a whole day seem better. Right now, Cessily found herself caught in the dreaded crunch between fifth and sixth period. Lunch was already over and she was still too far away from the end of the school day for the anxiousness to kick in. She was in the proverbial no man's land where things seemed to drag on forever. However, a little piece of paper sitting in the bottom of her locker completely changed her attitude about the day. Cessily looked around to make sure no one was paying attention to her before she took the note and carefully unfolded it.

For the past month, Cessily Kincaid had been keeping something of a dirty, little secret. Despite appearances to the contrary, she _did_ indeed have a boyfriend. However, Cessily wasn't as naïve as everyone thought. She knew what people would say if they knew the truth. She was next in line for head cheerleader and Kevin Ford was one of _those_ kids. It wasn't that Cessily was a snob. She made it a strict habit not to judge people. Unfortunately, it didn't mean everyone else shared her open mind.

She and Kevin had met when she had needed a Biology tutor. Her grade in the class was in danger of dropping to a point where it would hurt her standing in the cheerleading squad so Cessily had decided to ask Kevin to tutor her since he seemed to be one of the best students in the class. It had all started innocently enough and at first they were simply just friends. Soon though, the verbal barbs began to rain down. Everyone knew that Kevin had problems, knew that he was about one step away from doing something serious. Cessily didn't see him that way though. Kevin wasn't some outcast who needed to be ostracized. Cessily knew he was a good kid, a kind and sensitive kid who wouldn't hurt her. They never told anyone they were officially together. Cessily couldn't take the disapproving stares of her parents, the snide remarks from the other cheerleaders, or the general feeling that the current social structure of WestView High just didn't want her and Kevin Ford to be seen as a couple in public. Plus, if Cessily had to be honest with herself the secrecy of the relationship made Kevin all the more attractive.

Cessily read the note carefully, feeling her cheeks burn at the thought of what was to come. It was their standard arrangement. Cessily was to meet him in the shop after she was through with practice. Kevin had a passion for industrial art and had endeared himself to the shop teacher enough that the man let him stay in the workshop after hours alone to work on some of his sculptures. Cessily often visited him while he was working. They usually ended up making out, something that Cessily greatly enjoyed. There was something about Kevin's touch, something that made her desperate for more. Cessily read the note over a second time and then carefully tucked it into her textbook. If anyone bothered to notice her, they would've noticed that she had a little extra spring to her step and the remnants of a lovesick smile plastered on her face.

XXXXX

"You can't do this!" The lights in Emma Frost's office flickered. Emma wasn't going to be intimidated by such a parlor trick. She calmly stared at Noriko Ashida and waited for the girl to finish with her tantrum.

"Selene is not someone to take lightly," warned Emma in an even, measured tone. It was a lesson Emma had seen firsthand. Trevor Fitzroy may have been the one who had killed the first group of Hellions but Selene was the one who had given the orders. Emma knew no one was joking when they called her "La Belle Dame Sans Merci". Emma wasn't going to have any more of her kids die.

"Neither was Nimrod," reminded Surge, "We've held our own against some tough guys. There's no way you can pull us off this mission. This is personal!"

"That's what concerns me," admitted Emma, "The X-Men can handle this. We _will_ rescue Cessily and Kevin too if he chooses so. You have my word that I'll handle Selene personally and it will _not_ be pleasant for her to say the least."

"I'll save you the pain of breaking some nails then," assured Surge, "Cyclops said this team was mine and David's. He said he would let us run the show. We're doing this."

"Have you read the files we have on Selene?" asked Emma.

"Twice," retorted Surge, "I can make it three if you want me to. Where are they keeping Cess?"

"I'd answer tha lass's question," advised Rahne as she leaned against the doorframe and stared at Emma.

"Your advice has been taken into consideration," said Emma icily, "I understand your anger and your desire, Noriko. However, I still feel that this is a job left to the X-Men."

"We are the damn X-Men!" replied Surge, "Do you remember what you told us when you made us come to that assembly after M-Day? You told us our childhood was over. You think we're old enough to run through Danger Room sessions. You think we're old enough to seriously be called the next generation of X-Men. You think we're old enough for all that but when it comes time to run into the fire we're suddenly kids again and you wanna protect us from being burned. You can't have it both ways."

"'Fraid she's got ye, Emma," said Rahne with a grin as she watched Surge and the White Queen glare at each other in what was likely one of the most brutal showdowns to occur inside the walls of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.

"They didn't jump far," said Emma finally, "Doing that takes a lot out of Selene. Her magic and her powers are both formidable but it's all based on how much energy she's absorbed. Remember that. They're inside the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan. I got a psychic cry for help from Mercury but that's all I've been able to get. Be ready for anything and I stress the word 'anything'. I'll telepathically teach you how to fly one of the jets so you hopefully don't crash it like you did with the other one."

"This means we're going alone?" asked Surge.

"You have my reservations but you do indeed have my blessing," said Emma grudgingly, "Take it and get Cessily back." Surge nodded and headed out the door to inform her team.

"Lass has always been a spitfire," reminded Rahne as she watched Nori go.

"I've never liked you," admitted Emma as she turned to Rahne, "I suppose part of that has to do with what's happened here concerning you. I suppose part of it is also a reflex action left over from those dark, archaic times when we were enemies. Whatever the case, I've never liked you but I find myself in need of a favor from you."

"Do tell," prodded Rahne.

"Look out for my kids," said Emma, "You know what Selene can do. Look out for my kids." Rahne remembered the day Emma had contacted her about Kevin. She remembered that Emma had called Kevin her kid and the request had seemed more like an order. Rahne wasn't getting that impression this time. This time, Emma Frost was really asking her for a favor.

"Aye, I know what Selene can do," assured Rahne, "Ye forget that I know what those kids can do too. I'll take yuir offer, Yuir Majesty, but ye'll have ta do somethin' in return."

"Do tell," prodded Emma, mimicking Rahne.

"'Ave a little faith in 'em," suggested Rahne, "Those kids are our future. 'Ave a little faith that it's a future that's in good hands."

"Deal," said Emma as she extended her hand.

"Deal," agreed Rahne as she shook it.


	4. Dead Man

Withering Affections (Part Four)

By TheLostMaximoff

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. This one's probably going to be a little longer than the others. R/R.

"Do you know what she's dreaming about?" Selene turned to see that Wither was once again staring at Mercury. They had spent the time killing the museum security staff so that they wouldn't be disturbed and Selene could power up before the impending showdown.

"Probably you," replied Selene, "I've seen into her mind. The poor girl's enamored with you. I'd feel a little sorry for her if I was capable of that."

"She shouldn't waste her time," said Wither, "It's not like I'm coming back."

"Then let her have her fantasy," suggested Selene as she touched Wither's hand, "I prefer the real thing."

"I'll make them into a tapestry for you," whispered Wither, "I'll make them scream your name before they die."

"I know," whispered back Selene with a cruel grin, "I'll love every second of it."

XXXXX

Cessily felt Kevin's lips break off from hers and begin a torturously slow descent down her neck. Cessily felt her own lips part as she gasped for breath as Kevin's found a particularly sensitive spot on her neck. His touch intoxicated her, got her higher than anything ever could. It was so addictive and Cessily had long ago stopped wondering why.

"Mmm," purred Cessily, "I just showered. You really want me all hot and sweaty again?"

"Who says I don't prefer you that way?" asked Kevin with a devilish grin at her as he stopped kissing her and simply held her.

"Since I'm so crazy about you, I'll let that slide," warned Cessily.

"You're too kind," assured Kevin, "My dad's going to be working late tonight. You wanna pick this up again at my place?"

"Love to," said Cessily as she tossled his hair, running her fingers through the brown locks, "I'll think of something to tell my parents. Just remember that my curfew's eleven so I have to be home before then."

"I remember," assured Kevin as he kissed her forehead, "I'll be home in a few minutes. I just have to wrap a couple things up here."

"Call me when you get there," said Cessily as she picked up her gym bag and left, "Love you."

"Love you too," replied Kevin as he watched her go, his eyes roaming over every piece of well-toned flesh on her shapely body. She knew he was watching her and knowing that only turned her on even more.

XXXXX

"This whole 'telepathic teaching' thing is nice," said Elixir as he watched Surge pilot the jet, "I totally could use a hook-up for some stuff."

"Yeah," admitted Hellion from the co-pilot's seat, "You'd think having her as an advisor would get you an in with this stuff. I totally should've asked her for all the answers to all my finals."

"Ha," said Surge, "I practically had to slug her just to get this. Some days I dunno who has the stick shoved up further: her or Mr. Summers."

"Summers all the way," assured Rockslide.

"Though I barely understand the expression, I am inclined to agree," stated Dust. Surge flicked her eyes to one of the instruments and saw that they were going to have to land soon. Their target was close.

"Keller, hit that green switch over on your side," ordered Surge, "We're going to have to touch this thing down somewhere and I want the cloak on so those registration nuts don't nuke us for flying in restricted space or some crap like that."

"Where are we landing this thing?" asked Rockslide, "I mean it's cramped compared to the Blackbird but it ain't _that_ small."

"I'm the one taking care of that," assured Surge as she pulled the plane to a stop and kept it hovering over the museum, "Everybody out then I'll find a place to park. I've got a full charge; I can speed back here."

"You sure you wanna blow that now?" asked Elixir.

"I plan on juicing up again soon," assured Surge as she opened the bay doors, "All ashore that's going and all that crap." Hellion was the first out, using his telekinesis to float down to the roof. Dust followed next, the cloud of sand spiraling downwards until it reached the roof.

"Better hope I don't drop ya, Foley," said Rockslide as he scooped up both Elixir and X-23 before jumping out of the plane. Elixir was about to make a comment but his teeth soon rattled as Rockslide hit the roof with an unceremonious thud.

"You wanna make some more noise?" asked Hellion as Surge wheeled the plane around to find a place to land.

"Please," scoffed Rockslide, "You gotta learn about entrances, man. It's all about the entrance."

"You've been watching too much pro wrestling," stated Hellion, "I say we get in this place now without waiting for Ashida."

"Noriko is the team's leader," reminded Dust.

"We need her to zap the alarms," added Elixir.

"I didn't say we break in just yet," explained Hellion as he motioned to a ventilation duct, "Sooraya, run some recon for us." Dust nodded and turned into her dust form, pouring herself into the ventilation system. She moved around inside the ducts before coming out of a vent and reforming herself. She looked around but couldn't see anything. Sooraya moved cautiously, taking care to spot anything suspicious. While there was a modest amount of lighting due to the moonlight streaming through the windows, Dust still would've preferred more illumination.

"Not good," said Dust to herself as she saw a human body lying on the floor. She moved over to it and turned it over so she could see the man's face. The skin was shriveled up, making the body look very old. Sooraya knew this was not Wither's work but she knew it didn't matter. Whoever was responsible for this would be punished. Dust would see to that personally.

"I can't take credit for that one," admitted Wither as he stepped into the moonlight, "It's beautiful though."

"Where is Cessily?" asked Dust.

"Safe," assured Wither, "I haven't let Selene hurt her so don't worry. I'm not a monster."

"You participated in this slaughter," reminded Dust, "What does that make you?"

"Creation comes from destruction," explained Wither, "By destroying that man's life, Selene helped create something beautiful."

"Murder is still murder," stated Dust.

"Then I suppose I'll create something from you," said Wither as he suddenly came at her. Dust wasn't particularly worried about this. She simply turned to dust and let Wither pass right through her, morphing back to flesh to face him.

"You are behaving like a child," stated Dust, "Stop this foolishness and let us help you."

"I don't need help," assured Wither, "I know what you want. You want me around so you can all feel better about yourselves. Sure life might be bad but at least it's not as bad as mine is."

"Where is Cessily?" demanded Dust as she transformed and let Wither pass through her again. She was through reasoning with him. It was obviously useless. Dust wasn't watching her back. A suit of armor suddenly came to life and slammed her in the back of the head with the handle of its axe while she was in human form.

"Go ahead and scream," urged Selene as the bodiless knight raised its axe to deliver the killing stroke, "I want the rest of your pitiful friends to come running."

XXXXX

"'Bout damn time," said Hellion as Surge finally showed up. The entire team heard a thud from inside the building. Surge noticed that Dust wasn't among them and instantly knew what the rest of her team wanted. She quickly found the wire to the window alarms and used it to suck all the power out of the building.

"Go!" ordered Surge as she looked at Hellion. Rockslide wasn't going to waste time. He simply crashed through the skylight and slammed into the floor. Hellion followed with X-23, Elixir, and Surge in his telekinetic grip.

"Entrance," noted Rockslide, "C'mon, that was pretty badass right?"

"Fan out and find Sooraya," ordered Surge, "Be ready for anything." She knew they were all used to a very loose definition of "anything". That was why no one batted an eye at the walking suit of armor.

"How easy are we gonna go on this?" asked Elixir. The armor took a swing with its axe and would've split Elixir in two if Rockslide hadn't have moved in the way.

"Screw it," said Rockslide as the armor took another swing at him and hacked off more of his hide. Rockslide slammed the armor in the helmet, sending it tumbling across the floor. Unfortunately, Santo forgot that the armor was already empty and such a blow wouldn't stop it.

"Move," ordered X-23 as the armor moved to strike again. Rockslide side-stepped it while X-23 went low, clipping it at the knees with one of her foot claws in a vicious swipe that took the thing's legs literally out from under it.

"We could use some light," said Hellion. Electricity filled the air as Surge powered up, the light from the arcs enough to help them see what was going on.

"There's another one," said Elixir. Hellion saw it was moving to strike Dust. He pushed the thing with his telekinesis, slamming it sideways against the far wall.

"Right about now," said Hellion as he vaguely managed to see Selene coming at him, "I'm wishing you hadn't cut the power."

"Close your eyes!" ordered Surge as she threw lightning into the ceiling lights, causing them to flare up to a painful degree. Selene cursed as she put a hand to her face to shield herself.

"The security system is on a separate grid," assured Surge as the lights stayed on but returned to normal brightness, "Nobody's going to interrupt us."

"Should've kept them off," sneered Wither, "You don't want to see what I'm going to do." Wither's bare fingers almost reached Surge before a telekinetic wall stopped them.

"You have business with me," stated Hellion as he telekinetically pushed Wither away, "Where's Cess?"

"He said she was unharmed," informed Dust.

"That doesn't change the fact that he's already hurt her," retorted Hellion, "C'mon, 'Mr. Death'. You and me are going to have some words."

"Is 'dangerous' one of them?" asked Wither snidely as he came at Hellion, "I believe that's what you called me." Hellion wasn't going to go easy on the kid just because they had once been teammates. He telekinetically bound Wither's hands together at the wrists and locked up Kevin's arms.

"You want dangerous?" asked Hellion, "I got dangerous right here. What have you done with Cess? Tell me or I make sure those arms never work again."

"Kill him," ordered Wither with a cruel grin. Hellion felt the cold, metallic grip of something slither around his neck. Liquid mercury tentacles wrapped around his arms, tying him up while the tendril around his neck started choking him out.

"Cess?" rasped Hellion. Mercury couldn't hear him. Her body heeded the command of its co-owner and her grip around Julian's throat tightened.

"Yeah, you didn't hurt her at all," said Elixir sarcastically as he tackled Wither. The others moved to strike at Selene but the witch sprung into action. Surge's lightning bolts crashed against an invisible barrier.

"I wonder how good you taste with all that power in you," said Selene as she suddenly appeared behind Surge, "I'm quite eager to find out." Surge wasn't going to give Selene the satisfaction. She threw up an electrical barrier that kept Selene from touching her.

"Well if you don't want to play then what good are you?" asked Selene as she telekinetically threw Surge aside. X-23's claws screamed towards Selene but a telekinetic shield stopped them. Selene smirked as she tossed Laura aside next.

"I've waited so long for this," assured Wither as he wrestled with Elixir, "My touch won't work on that skin of yours but I'll enjoy beating you senseless."

"That'll be the day," said Elixir as he kicked Wither off of him, "I don't really give a damn if you wanna be the vampire chick's cabana boy. The only thing I care about is that you're hurting my friends."

"I'll settle for hurting you," stated Wither as he picked up the axe that the suit of armor had dropped and swung it at Elixir. Josh moved backwards but the blade still dealt a glancing blow. Gold wasn't exactly the hardest of metals. Red mixed with gold and black as Elixir pressed his hand to the wound on his chest.

"You always thought you were untouchable," sneered Wither as he came at Elixir again, "You're not the golden boy anymore, Foley. You're nothing but a thief, taking what should've rightfully been mine."

"Laurie was never yours," stated Elixir as he used his free hand to grab the axe by the handle while his other hand went to work on healing his wound.

"She could've been!" snarled Wither, "She could've been but you were so intent on having it all. I thought I taught you a lesson when I went to Miss Frost and told her what was going on. I don't have to touch you to hurt you."

XXXXX

Cessily checked herself over in the mirror. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong with her. She had a slight headache but other than that she felt fine. She figured she was just being paranoid.

"I hope you didn't come over here just to use my bathroom," said Kevin as he leaned against the doorframe.

"I have a little headache," explained Cessily before taking some pills, "I probably pushed too much at practice. We've all been working really hard."

"We can take it easy tonight then," suggested Kevin, "I was thinking we could watch a movie."

"Kev, not Pet Sematary again," said Cessily with a roll of her eyes, "You know I don't like horror movies and you've seen that one a million times."

"It's a classic," reminded Kevin, which received another eye-roll from Cessily that indicated she wasn't going to fall for it, "Fine, you can pick the movie."

"Your movie collection is at least seventy-five percent horror," reminded Cessily.

"That still leaves at least twenty-five percent," relied Kevin, "Besides, nobody says we have to _watch_ the movie." Cessily grinned at him slyly and crossed the room to kiss his cheek.

"I can never keep my hands off you," said Cessily, "You make me crazy."

"I thought that's what love was like," replied Kevin as he kissed her back, "Nothing wrong with being a little crazy."

XXXXX

She was really going to kill him. Hellion didn't like to think about Mercury being hurt but the idea that she could be the one doing the hurting never really crossed his mind. Sure she did a good job of looking tough but Julian never really thought about Cessily seriously hurting anyone. That was until she had managed to lock him in a chokehold. It was incredibly hard to concentrate when you were gasping for every breath.

"Sorry," gasped Hellion as he forced himself to create a telekinetic bubble inside Mercury's body and then rapidly expand it, blowing her apart and releasing her hold. Mercury's body splattered everywhere but it quickly began reforming itself.

"I dunno what happened to you," explained Hellion as he tried catching his breath, "It's Julian, Cess. I know you're in there." Mercury came at him. Hellion threw up a telekinetic wall but Mercury simply morphed her hands around it, the razor-sharp claws coming at Julian from both sides. Hellion telekinetically jerked himself upwards to avoid being skewered. The claws slammed together, morphing into a single spike that shot upwards towards him. Hellion had enough sense to just create a shield around his body instead of going for a wall. The spike made a couple stabs before everything retracted back into Mercury's body.

"Did Kevin let this happen?" asked Hellion as he looked at Mercury, "Did Kevin _make_ this happen?" He was enraged. They were supposed to be family. Cessily was the one who had stood up for Wither no matter what and this was the repayment she received from him.

"I swear I'll kill him, Cess," promised Hellion as Mercury came at him, "All you have to do is say the word and he's gone." He quickly enclosed Mercury in a box by throwing up telekinetic walls on all four sides of her and then a fifth over her. Mercury thrashed violently as she struggled to get out of her prison.

"Please," whispered Hellion as he pressed his head against the wall, "Brian is gone. Sofia is gone. I don't want to lose anyone else."

XXXXX

Wolverine had taught Joshua Foley a very important lesson. Contrary to popular opinion, being able to heal at a superhuman rate did _not_ make you invincible. It had taken a couple bad incidents for Elixir to learn this hard truth. There wasn't shame in running away from a fight. All it meant was that you could heal and plan your next move. Wither had gotten lucky with that axe. Elixir hid behind one of the display cases and tended to his wounds. He only needed a few seconds to heal. It would take a full minute at the very most and then he could surprise Kevin.

"Come out, coward," ordered Wither, "I should've known you'd try this. You were always good at sneaking around behind everyone else's back." Elixir had learned another valuable lesson from the wise, old Canuck most simply called "Logan". _'Bad guys are always gonna talk trash, kid. It don't mean ya gotta listen to 'em.'_

"That was always your problem," said Wither as he saw the light reflect off of Elixir's skin and give away his position, "You always did have to be the center of attention." Wither ran and jumped on top of the display case, bringing his weapon down in a vertical slice that cut dead air. Kevin felt his feet fly out from under him as Elixir tripped him.

"It's funny how all this turned out," admitted Elixir, "You always thought I stole everything from you . . ."

"You did!" cut in Wither as he kicked Elixir in the face and then tackled him to the floor.

"Well here's something else for the list," assured Elixir as he suddenly placed one hand on either side of Wither's face. He knew Kevin would never listen to reason. The only way to stop him was to put him down hard.

"What?" asked Wither as the black ooze on Elixir suddenly rushed to his hands. It was the only thing Kevin could utter before his mind exploded with pain. It was like every nerve in his body was on fire. Wither screamed as Elixir continued to apply his own death-touch. Josh held on for a few more seconds before finally throwing Wither off of him.

"It's better than you deserve," assured Elixir as he began to heal the wounds he had inflicted on Wither.

"Dead," mumbled Wither incoherently as he stared at his hands in horror, "Dead. Dead." He . . . he saw himself the way he saw everyone else. He was nothing more than a corpse, a walking dead man. He had no power over death, no great and mighty ability to keep himself immune from it. Death controlled him and Kevin Ford was only now privy to this fact.

"No," said Elixir as he knocked Wither out cold, "I promised Laurie I wouldn't kill anybody else. That's the difference between us. I always knew she wanted better than that."

XXXXX

Her headache only seemed to be getting worse. Cessily buried her face into Kevin's shirt, hoping that somehow it might ease the pain. Kevin's arm reflexively curled around her as he looked down at her with worry.

"You sure you're alright?" asked Kevin as Cessily looked up at him.

"No," replied Cessily sadly, "I just . . . I mean I didn't want to ruin this."

"What do you need?" asked Kevin as he kissed her forehead.

"A new head," replied Cessily only half joking. It felt like her skull was going to split open. She winced as a particularly painful throb hit her. She didn't want to say what else was going on. She was getting these . . . feelings. She felt like all of this, this entire blissful existence, was somehow wrong. It was all wrong.

"You're sweating," noted Kevin as he put a hand to her forehead, "You're also burning up." Cessily noticed Kevin stare at his hand as he took it away from her head.

"What?" asked Cessily nervously. Her whole body felt on fire now. Something was wrong with her skin. It felt prickly and tingly.

"It's . . ." explained Kevin, "I don't think this is sweat." Cessily put a hand to her forehead and pulled it away. It was too thick for sweat. She put the substance to her lips and licked it. The bitter tang of metal greeted her taste buds.

"Cess, wait," said Kevin as Cessily suddenly ran into the bathroom and stared into the mirror. She . . . she was turning into something. Her body was turning into metal, liquid metal.

"Kevin," whimpered Cessily as she felt her legs dissolve into liquid. She managed to spin around before sinking literally into a puddle on the floor.

"Hang on," said Kevin as he grabbed her hands, trying to pull her up. This wasn't like quicksand. Cessily's legs weren't stuck in a puddle, they _were_ a puddle. She could feel the change work its way up through her body.

"Kevin!" cried Cessily as she felt her hand start to slip away from his, "Kevin, help me!" She was scared. She was so scared but she felt the oddest feeling as if this had happened before. This . . . this wasn't new.

"I won't let go," assured Kevin as he grasped for her. Cessily was fading fast, melting quicker than the Wicked Witch of the West after being doused with a bucket of water.

"I can't hang on!" cried Cessily, "Help me! Help!" That was all she could say before she dissolved into nothing but a puddle of mercury.

XXXXX

She had broken out of Hellion's trap. Julian didn't know if he should be proud of Mercury. It was hard to be proud of someone who was trying to kill you. Hellion tried another wall but he felt Mercury shatter it with one blow. He was getting weak. Hellion didn't like to admit it but even he had limits. This fight had severely taxed him and he knew his other teammates weren't fairing much better with Selene.

"Cess," pleaded Hellion as he suddenly felt the tentacles from her body coil around him and force him down, pinning him to the floor. Mercury stood over him and as Hellion looked at her he realized something for perhaps the first time. None of them gave Cessily Kincaid enough credit. Sure, they liked her and respected her but if they had to pick a weak link it would probably be her. None of them really understood just how deadly she could be because she never allowed herself to go there. She never allowed them to see a lot of things.

"Cess, I'm sorry," explained Hellion, "I should've seen how bad he was hurting you. I should've done something." A long and very sharp spike extended from Mercury's chest and aimed itself directly at Hellion's chest. Maybe he deserved this, deserved this for being too preoccupied with himself and his own problems to see that Cessily's crush on Kevin was actually crushing her. Maybe he deserved this for not rescuing her from the Facility fast enough.

"I'm sorry," repeated Hellion, "You deserved better." Something flickered in Mercury's eyes. Her mind felt caught in the weird space between a dream and reality. Cessily clawed her way towards reality and every labored step caused her to reassert more and more control over herself.

"Julian?" gasped Mercury as her mouth worked again, "Julian, I . . . what happened?" Her mind struggled to make sense of it all, struggled to sift through the pieces of a life she only thought she had led.

"It's alright," assured Hellion as Mercury let him up, "Everything's gonna be okay." Mercury shook her head and tried to remember. Everything started to click and the more it did the angrier she became.

"You!" snarled Mercury as she turned to see Selene dispatch her teammates once again, "You did this!" Selene managed to form a smirk seconds before it was promptly wiped off her face as a giant hammer made of liquid mercury slammed into her and beat her down to the floor.

"That was my life you screwed with," stated Mercury coldly as she used one hand to pin Selene to the floor while the other continued to hammer her, "You made me a slave, a dog for your entertainment!"

"I gave you everything you ever wanted," countered Selene. Another hammer blow filled the room with a sickening thud. Something cracked and everyone realized it was one of Selene's ribs.

"Don't talk," ordered Mercury coldly, "You took what I loved and turned it ugly. You took my dreams and made them nightmares. You took Kevin and made him into a monster!"

"I set him free," rasped Selene. Mercury realized she had hurt this witch, this supposedly immortal goddess. It felt good to hurt her. Revenge felt so good, so tempting. She wanted to hurt them, all of them. She wanted to hurt Selene and Kimura and the people at the Facility. She wanted to hurt Stryker for hiring them to hack off her flesh to use in their monster factory. She could hurt them all, hurt them like they had hurt her. Cessily never knew how powerful she was until she felt the blood of a goddess on her hands.

"You want me to pull her off?" asked Rockslide as he looked to Hellion.

"She needs this," replied Hellion, "Selene can take it."

"She'll take more than just that," assured Surge as she suddenly began sucking in more electricity, "Keller, when I give the word I want you to pull Cessily off. I'm going to give Selene's healing factor a workout."

"Give me a good reason why I shouldn't kill you," ordered Mercury as she wrapped one hand around Selene's ribs and squeezed.

"You can't," gasped Selene. A moment of clarity punctured through the cloud of rage and Cessily realized she had broken the cardinal rule. Nobody ever touched Selene unless she wanted them to. Nobody ever hurt Selene and lived to tell the tale.

"You never could," assured Selene as her power suddenly kicked in and she began sucking the life out of Mercury.

"Now!" ordered Surge. Hellion telekinetically grabbed Mercury and jerked her away from Selene. Seconds later, every electrical source died as Surge sucked up all the power and threw it at Selene. Nori remembered what Emma had told her. Selene's powers depended on her intake of life-force. They had worn her down, expended her energy. Now it was time to go for the throat. Surge knew it wouldn't kill Selene but she would damn sure teach the witch a thing or two about messing with her friends. Selene screamed as the lightning flowed into her, pushing her healing powers to the absolute limit. For the first time in all her incredibly long life, Selene actually thought she might very well die. Surge channeled every bit of power she could into her blast and when it was all done she sank to the floor, almost collapsing fully.

"Holy crap," said Rockslide as he looked at Selene, "It's the Cryptkeeper! We've been fighting the freakin' Cryptkeeper!" Selene weakly stood, now nothing but charred meat clinging desperately to a skeleton. Her hair was snow-white, her skin shriveled up. Everything about her was old and worn away.

"Another time," assured Selene as she began to vanish. She would lick her wounds and return to teach these children some lessons. For now though, the battle was over.


	5. Broken Cogs

Withering Affections (Part Five)

By TheLostMaximoff

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. This is the last part so make sure to R/R. Thanks for all the reviews.

"Cess?" Mercury barely registered Surge's voice. She stood there staring at where Selene had been, her eyes glued to the spot like she could make the witch return if she stared hard enough.

"You okay?" asked Surge as she pulled herself up from the floor, her body soaking up the residual electricity in the air and using it to power her tired and aching muscles. Mercury didn't know how to answer Nori's question. Part of her wondered if she'd ever be okay again. She remembered that fantasy, remembered her perfect life with Kevin. It wasn't perfect though. Even concerning her fantasies, Cessily Kincaid still had to paint things brighter than they actually were. Maybe that was her fatal flaw, holding on too tightly to her innocence when it was time to just grow up.

"I wanted to kill her," replied Mercury without looking at Surge, "I wanted to kill her for what she did to me and to Kevin. God help me, I still do."

"We need to leave," explained Surge quietly. That was when someone crashed through one of the windows. Surge and the others watched as the man hit the floor and multiplied, each one spitting out another as they tumbled over themselves. The effect was somewhat comical as they eventually came to a stop and began helping each other up. By the time the commotion died down, twenty identical versions of Jamie Madrox stood before the New X-Men.

"Ye could've played that a wee bit smoother," reminded Wolfsbane as she and the original Multiple Man walked into the room.

"You know I don't have any control over which one comes out," replied Jamie, "Alright, boys, where is he?" The nineteen duplicates quickly pointed to the one kamikaze Jamie who had first jumped through the window and started all the fuss.

"You said there was danger," explained the duplicate, "C'mon, man, this is no time to sit around and play it safe. These kids were in trouble. We couldn't waste time gawking and standing about. We had to leap into the fire, sound the alarm, protect the family. We had to . . ."

"I drink too much coffee," muttered Madrox as he absorbed the well-meaning but overzealous duplicate.

"Excuse me," said Surge as she looked at Rahne, Jamie, and the nineteen other Jamies, "What the hell is going on?"

"I take it ye never met me boss," said Rahne with a grin, "This is Jamie Madrox, the Multiple Man. We're yuir backup."

"You're a little late," explained Surge as she gestured to the rest of the room, "Bad guys are all gone now."

"Well, most of them," corrected Elixir as he came in dragging Wither's unconscious body behind him, "Poor kid's nuts. He needs some help."

"He needs a swift kick in the . . ." began Hellion but Mercury silenced him with a glare.

"Just get him some help," said Mercury quietly as she looked at Rahne, "Please."

"We know some people," assured one of the Jamies as he looked to Surge, "We've got all kinds of connections. Speaking of knowing people, how about we get to know one another hm?" The room fell completely silent.

"I know this place," continued the Jamie, "Sure some people might call it a little . . . 'risqué' but I think you're just the type who'd really . . ."

"Fer tha love o' God Almighty," said Rahne as she looked at the original Jamie, "She's not even bloody o' age yet, Jamie! Is that seriously all ye think about?"

"Alright, boys," said Jamie as he started absorbing all his duplicates for fear of something else being said that was not for the ears of anyone but him, "I think it's time everybody goes back in the box."

"I'm really, really tired," stated Surge as she looked at Madrox, "I'm so tired that I'm just going to skip over what you . . . he said."

"Thanks," replied Jamie, "Seriously, I got Doc Samson on speed-dial. We'll take care of your friend."

"Good," said Surge, "Let's get the hell out of here before those registration creeps show up."

XXXXX

It had been a few days since what had happened with Selene. Mercury had spent the time recovering. The amount of morphing she had done put a strain on her body. She felt like her muscles ached even though she didn't have any. All of the kids were kept informed about Kevin's whereabouts and his condition. The boy's mental stability had suffered a serious blow. With the mansion already overcrowded, Emma thought it best to let Dr. Samson and the other heroes handle Wither. Jamie had assured her that Samson was quite capable of tending to Kevin's needs even though X-Factor as a whole wasn't exactly on the best of terms with the X-Men. Still, Samson had placed Wither in the psych ward of one of SHIELD's facilities. Despite the New X-Men's suspicions about SHIELD, they couldn't deny that Kevin needed help and he stood a good chance of getting it while in the organization's care.

"I'm here to see Kevin Ford." Cessily watched the receptionist finish her typing. SHIELD had tried to make the place as friendly as possible. Mercury figured it was just to suck everyone in. She wondered when she got so distrustful and then she knew. She couldn't paint everything pretty anymore. The world was turning into an ugly place.

"I can take her," assured Dr. Leonard Samson as he greeted Mercury, "This way."

"Nice hair," commented Mercury.

"I get that a lot," assured Samson as he led Mercury down the hall lined with cells, "You get a dose of gamma radiation and something's bound to turn green. Maybe I'm lucky it was just my hair."

"Maybe," replied Cessily in a bored sort of tone. She felt numb inside and very unsure of what to expect or feel. Kevin had let Selene screw with her. Cessily had pleaded for it to stop and Kevin had simply stood there and done nothing. Cessily wanted to be angry at him for that. She wanted to hate him for the rest of her life but every time she tried to do so she just ended up hating herself. She should've just let him go. She should've just given up on him like everyone else had.

"We've put him on some medication," explained Samson, "Your friend has some very serious delusions, Miss Kincaid, and hallucinations to go along with them. We ask that you remain here for your own safety."

"So I can't see him?" asked Mercury for clarification.

"It might do some good," admitted Samson, "However, we can't risk the security breach. If therapy goes well then perhaps we'll let you another time."

"I understand," said Cessily, not hinting that there might not even be a next time. She looked through the Plexiglas and saw him sitting in a chair. The straightjacket was plastic or some other non-organic material. Cessily watched his eyes listlessly move to rest on her, seeing her yet not seeing her.

"Am I dead?" asked Wither as he started to register Mercury's presence.

"No," replied Mercury.

"I feel dead," confessed Wither, "I see ghosts in my dreams. What day is it?"

"Saturday," replied Mercury, "Kevin, do you know what's happened?" Wither's eyes suddenly turned dark but Cessily saw something else in them that she'd never seen before. Kevin Ford was afraid. He was genuinely and honestly afraid.

"You took her away," said Wither, "I needed her."

"You needed _us_, Kevin," said Mercury in an exasperated tone, "You didn't need her. You _never_ needed her."

"I need you," said Kevin suddenly, "I look at these people and they look dead to me. I look in a mirror and I see a corpse staring back at me. You . . . I just see you. You're alive and I need you." It was what she always wanted him to say but it was too little and too late. Cessily knew that Kevin would never change. He would cling to whatever life raft he could in order to stay afloat. He was nothing but a scared child who had finally come face to face with his own mortality. Kevin Ford was no god nor was he a monster. In the end, Kevin Ford was just a scared kid who had thought himself invincible and only now understood how fragile he really was. Cessily wasn't going to get dragged down with him. Her fantasies of a life with him had been shattered.

"I would've loved to hear you say that months ago," admitted Mercury as she pressed herself against the glass, "I loved you, Kevin. Didn't you get that? Didn't you understand that I would've done anything for you?"

"Help me," begged Kevin as he suddenly got up and moved closer, "Please; you're all I have now."

"I begged you to stop her," reminded Cessily as she looked at him, "I was your friend, Kevin. I was your teammate. Why did you let her do that to me?"

"I was screwed up too," admitted Wither, "I wasn't . . . I didn't know what was happening."

"Is that the truth or an excuse?" asked Mercury.

"Both," admitted Kevin, "You shouldn't have followed me, Cess."

"Yeah, I know that now," said Mercury bitterly as she turned away. It was time to grow up and stop hanging on to her childish fantasies. It was time to stop wishing for the past when she could help shape the future.

"Cess, wait," begged Wither as he watched her go, "I need you. You have to stay."

"Things change, Kevin," replied Mercury as she turned and looked at him, "Things are always moving forward, always growing. The only things that don't ever change are the things that are dead. _Life_ is about moving forward and growing. I hope some day you'll see that." She knew he only wanted her now because she was the stable force in a life of chaos. Kevin thought things could go back to the way they used to be. Cessily knew they couldn't and it was foolish to try.

XXXXX

"Ye look disappointed." Mercury exited the facility and saw Rahne Sinclair standing next to the car. Cessily didn't have her license yet so she had needed transport. She didn't really feel up to the task of asking Cyclops or Emma to assign her a driver. She had looked up X-Factor in the phone book and asked Rahne if she could do it. Rahne had joked that it gave her an excuse to use the new car they had purchased because she'd be damned before she drove that Hummer around.

"Everything went like I expected," explained Mercury glumly, "It's just that . . ."

"I know," assured Rahne as both of them got into the car, "Have ye eaten yet, lass?"

"I don't eat," explained Mercury, "I mean sometimes I do but . . . it's not like I have organs anymore."

"Ye can watch then," said Rahne as she started up the car, "I happen ta be starvin' and I could probably use some coffee too." Cessily didn't say anything. She just watched the world pass her by from the safety and comfort of the passenger seat.

"I heard ye kids took on Nimrod," said Rahne, "That's a pretty big step up from the other junior classes."

"Yeah, not exactly what we had been trained for," admitted Cessily, "Santo won't shut up about it."

"Dunnae remember him as tha modest type," replied Rahne with a smile as she left the SHIELD compound behind them and turned towards Mutant Town, "How are things there?"

"We get by," assured Mercury, "I mean it's been hard because of . . . you know." Rahne simply nodded. Neither of them said anything for the rest of the drive.

XXXXX

"Ye haven't touched that coffee." Cessily gave Rahne a look that told the older girl they'd already discussed this subject and that Cessily didn't want to go over it again.

"It makes you feel human, huh?" asked Rahne as she gestured to the mug before Cessily.

"Yeah," admitted Cessily as she absently ran a finger around the rim of the mug, "It's silly I guess. I've had this mutation long enough to realize I'm not human anymore."

"I wouldnae say that," disagreed Rahne, "It takes a long time ta get used to. I still have a lot o' human habits."

"It's different for you," explained Cessily, "You can switch back."

"True," admitted Rahne as she took a bite of eggs.

"Tell me about back in the day," said Cessily suddenly after a few moments of silence.

"What would ye like ta know?" asked Rahne.

"Your first crush," said Cessily. Rahne smiled a little as she remembered him now. Samuel Guthrie always did have the bluest eyes she had ever seen in her life.

"Ye ever seen Jay Guthrie's brother, Sam?" asked Rahne.

"Seriously?" asked Cessily in return.

"Honest ta God," assured Rahne, "I knew him back when we were in the New Mutants together. He looked different back then but he was mostly the same as ever. Time changes ye but not all that much fer some. He's still a handsome lad."

"So did you ever . . .?" prompted Cessily, "I mean, did anything ever happen?"

"Sadly, no," replied Rahne with a shake of her head, "Sam was a nice one ta be sure but he was a tad oblivious and I was too shy. We both grew up, moved on."

"Yeah, I know about the oblivious ones," assured Cessily.

"Ye'll bounce back, lass," promised Rahne, "It takes a while but ye pull through." Cessily nodded, staring into her coffee before dipping a finger in it and swirling it around.

"Did you ever want to be an X-Man?" asked Cessily, "I mean really want to."

"It was different back then," explained Rahne, "Nobody really knew there _were_ X-Men let alone where they lived. I came to Xavier's because Moira MacTaggert was my guardian. She knew I'd get help there."

"So what about later?" asked Cessily.

"None of us really knew tha risks," said Rahne, "The adults looked out fer us but, like you kids, we had our own adventures. We took care o' one another as best we could. We lost a couple along the way but I like ta think we pulled through. None of us wanted ta be X-Men I don't think but it happened all the same."

"Sometimes I think about leaving," admitted Cessily, "Lately . . . I've been thinking about it a lot."

"Do ye have any family?" asked Rahne.

"My parents don't want me," admitted Cessily, "I don't really want to be a burden to my other relatives. I guess I also feel like I'm letting the team down if I leave."

"Ye look out fer one another," said Rahne, "That's the thing 'bout families. Sometimes ye get ta pick them."

"Only if you're lucky," added Cessily with a sigh, "I should be getting back. I think maybe it's time to get back on the horse and give combat practice a try."

"Sounds good," agreed Rahne.

XXXXX

They didn't speak to one another on the drive back to the mansion. It left Cessily with her own thoughts. Strangely, she felt a sense of peace. Perhaps Sooraya had been right. Perhaps what didn't kill you _did_ make you stronger.

"Ye know our number," said Rahne as she stopped at the gate, "Look us up some time if ye wanna talk."

"I will," assured Cessily. She moved to get out of the car but Rahne suddenly put a hand on her shoulder.

"A lot of people are gonna give ye advice," explained Rahne, "I don't want this ta sound like I'm doin' it out o' obligation. I'd just like ye ta remember something . . . something I wish I had remembered at yuir age."

"What's that?" asked Cessily as she looked at Rahne.

"Every enemy ye fight will try ta do the same thing," explained Rahne, "They do it different ways but it's all the same. They'll try ta break ye, try ta push ye to the limit and make ye do something ye'll regret later. Dunnae let them take away who ye are and turn ye into something ye're not."

"I won't," promised Cessily with a nod before getting out of the car and stepping through the front gate. She remembered the first time she had arrived at Xavier's. It seemed so incredibly long ago. She remembered her parents talking with Professor Xavier about "learning to control her powers". She knew that what they really meant was "learn to look human". Cessily knew there was no reason to be ashamed of her appearance. She couldn't live in the past forever.

"How are things?" Cessily saw Julian sitting on the front steps. She knew what he really meant.

"Kevin's . . . he's going to need help," explained Cessily, "He'll get it there I think."

"And you?" asked Julian.

"I think I already got help," admitted Cessily, "I didn't really know I needed it until I got it." She sat down next to Julian and watched as he tried holding a rubber ball in the air with his telekinesis. Cessily knew that Julian's powers were off. He was starting to get his precision back but strenuous use of his powers seemed to put him back at square one.

"I must've laid into you pretty good," joked Mercury as she saw that keeping the ball aloft for a minute was hard work for Hellion.

"You kicked my ass," admitted Julian.

"I'm sorry," apologized Cessily.

"No sweat," assured Julian with a shrug, "We're X-Men now. We gotta get used to this type of crap. It comes with the job."

"Thank you," said Cessily, "You look out for me a lot and it seems like I never get the chance to thank you for it."

"You do the same for me," assured Julian with a smile, "I gotta get to practice."

"I'd like to come too," said Cessily as she stood with him.

"You sure?" asked Julian skeptically.

"Yeah," admitted Cessily. It was time for her to grow up. Her childhood was over and it was time to put away schoolgirl crushes. Life was moving on and Cessily Kincaid was thankful for that. For the first time in a long time, she was strangely eager to see where it took her next.


End file.
